Blast from the Past

For all the modern technologies in the world, it was surprising to see such an ancient radio still in use for communication.

On one hand I have a mobile phone missing, and here in Bolivia, I see the total opposite end of technology, used to communicate with the Refugio I have stayed in the 1st night.

Pedro has mentioned to me yesterday that he could understand why it was so difficult to get a straight answer from Felix about my phone (at one time they said they found a phone, the next they said they had found a book!), as they had to radio into one station, before being connected to another station through that 1st station. 

And after seeing it for myself I can understand why too.  I could hardly make out what the other party was saying over the radio!

As we had to catch a bus to Sucre, we asked Felix to have the driver bring whatever they have found at the refuge to Uyuni, and should a phone be in the package, to have it sent over to their office in La Paz and I will check in when I am there. 

So for now, I am crossing my fingers, though with not much hope that it could be found.  Sigh…

Day 124 – 126 : Salar de Uyuni

I have read about the beautiful lagoons and the expansive salt lakes of Bolivia and made it a point to do a 3 days 2 night tour on a 4x4 jeep across Salar de Uyuni from Chile into Bolivia. 

However, I have also heard a lot of stories about agencies not delivering what was originally promised, or squeezing more people than they should (usually up to 6 pax in a jeep), as well as the infamous drunk and speed maniac drivers, and was thus extremely careful in choosing the agency of choice for the 3 days tour. 

Finally decided on one, which was much cheaper than the other agencies that offered similar, and whom also promised that there will be a maximum of 5 people in the group whereas all other agencies indicated 6. 

Day 1 : Laguna Blanca, Laguna Verde, Hot Springs, Geysers, Laguna Colorado

We were picked up at 8am from our hostel in a mini van and departed towards the Chilean border and the Bolivian border to process our documents, before being transferred to a 4x4 jeep at about 10.30am. 

I was so glad that there were only a total of 4 of us on the tour (Pieter from Holland, Ingrid from Chile, Pedro and I), as we see most of the other jeeps being packed like sardines!

Day 123 : Laguna Cejar

I will be having company for the next 2 weeks, as Pedro, my friend from Rio de Janeiro, arrived yesterday afternoon to join me up north towards Bolivia.

As there is a free day in San Pedro de Atacama before we depart for Bolivia tomorrow morning, I signed us up for a tour to Laguna Cejar, which also includes spots such as Ojos del Salar (Eyes of the Salt) and Laguna Tevinquinche.

Day 122 : Geysers el Tatio

Almost anyone who comes to San Pedro de Atacama usually ends up having a lack of sleep for at least one day, to visit the Tatio Geysers.  I was no exception as I had booked a Geysers tour, which required that I get up at 3.30am.

With less than 4 hours of sleep, I dragged my feet to get ready and waited for the bus pick up to arrive, which came only at about 4.40am. 

Our first stop was of course the Tatio Geysers, located about 1.5hrs away from San Pedro de Atacama, and at a height of 4,200m.  Upon arrival, Solly who was also on the Sand board tour yesterday, said that the temperature is –6 degree celsius. 

I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t realise it was going to be THIS cold! 

Day 121 : I Survived Death Valley!

I had read up about possibilities of doing Sand boarding in Valle de la Muerte (Death Valley), and have also read about a tour called Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley) which also includes visit to Valle de la Muerte and the salt caves. 

Not wanting to make 2 trips to Death Valley for different purpose, I wanted to have a tour which combines both Moon Valley tour and Sand boarding at one time, however it seemed that not many tour agencies seem to be able to organise that.

So when I walked around the town in the morning, and chanced upon an advertisement offering exactly what I wanted, I was thrilled!  I quickly enquired and signed up for the tour that departed at 4pm in the afternoon.

 

Day 120 : 23.5 hours

Spent the last 23.5 hours of my life on a bus from Vina del Mar to San Pedro de Atacama… the longest ever bus ride I had taken in my life!  My butt was getting numb from all the long hours of sitting, and to make it worse, cama seats were sold out, so I was left with just semi-cama.

Thankfully mid way through the journey, passengers got off, and I had a spare seat next to me to stretch my legs. 

I have to say though, Argentinian buses are definitely more service oriented and better than the ones in Chile.  First of all, for a 23.5 hour journey, one would expect that they would be serving 3 meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).  Turned out that only breakfast and lunch was served, and there was no information prior to taking the bus about what meals would be included. 

Meals provided were also much simpler than those of their Argentinian counterparts. 

Breakfast comprised of a juice and a biscuit, and for lunch a small pathetic bun with a packet of apple juice.  It was fortunate that I usually have some biscuits of sorts in my bag, which lasted me through the rest of the journey.

Toilets were also appalling.  18hrs into the journey, the stench of the toilet could be smelt on most of the deck, and there was no ventilation in the later few hours of the bus ride!  Not pleasant at all, and especially after being on the bus for so long, the least is to have some clean air!

So I was truly glad to have arrived in San Pedro de Atacama late in the night.  I am now officially in the desert!

Day 118 – 119 : Vina del Mar & Valparaiso

1.5 hour north of Santiago lies Vina del Mar and Valparaiso, which are located side by side each other, about 10 mins apart. 

There aren’t much attractions to see in both Valparaiso and Vina del Mar though, however between the two, Vina del Mar is much more pleasant, as Valparaiso is more old and run down. 

Clubbing in Vina del Mar

Barely a couple of hours after arriving into Vina del Mar, I was invited to go clubbing with Gerardo and friends at a disco called “OVO”. 

It is part of the casino and located in a building covered with glass panels, next to the beach.  Apparently there is usually a high cover charge to go in, but it seems Gerardo knew someone at the club, so we got in for free

I don’t go clubbing much, but this is one of the nicer clubs that I had been to since my trip in South America.  The club was packed, yet still sufficient space for you to be moving around without feeling too squashed up, and music that played was really good.  

The only thing that annoyed me, was that smoking was allowed in the disco, and many people in Vina del Mar seems to smoke.  So by the time we left the party, I was smelling of cigarettes… yuck!

Nevertheless I had fun with Gerardo and his friends.

Day 117 : Living the Chilean Way in Santiago

There is still one place left to visit in Santiago and that is Cerro San Cristobal. 

Pablo took the time off work to accompany me and we decided to take the easy way out and took the funicular to the top.

Day 116 : Santiago

As I walked around the streets of Santiago, I find myself comparing very often between Santiago and Buenos Aires in Argentina. 

Overall, Santiago is more compact and with lesser sights to see, though I found it more pleasant walking around the town and got better vibes here than in Buenos Aires.  Perhaps its because it is cleaner and the weather here is much better now, than when I was in Buenos Aires. 

Transportation system in Santiago is also definitely much more efficient than in Buenos Aires.

I managed to cover most of the major sights on foot within 5 hours, including lunch.

 

Day 112 – 115 : Lighthouse “Luminojos”

After being in communication with Max over a year about his lighthouse home, it was great to finally get the chance to visit it! 

The most amazing thing is that this was personally built by Max, so it piqued my curiousity further in wanting to see this place he calls home.

In total isolation from the world and perched on top of a cliff, with more than 180 degree unblocked panoramic view of the South Pacific ocean, it was just perfect to recharge after feeling like I had been on an “Amazing Race” for the last few months, running from one city to the next.